Release 0.9 Is Out and It Brings a New World of Opportunities

A long awaited release is finally out and before we jump to what’s in it let me first tell you what our team has been focusing on these days.

Team Focus

Besides providing technically the best dispatch platform and apps we have spent a lot of efforts on how we can make these tools work for your company. Our essential goal here is to help you make your business successful. That’s a thought we are planting deep inside our minds, so that when we wake up the next day and come to the HQ we start off by asking ourselves a question: “what am I going to do today that will help our customer John Doe make more money?”. We are experimenting a lot on live passengers and drivers, checking different backend settings and UX layouts. And a lot of changes in the release are a result of this critical approach. In the later runs you should also expect more possibilities for yourself to experiment with different types of businesses and setups to find what works best for you.
Right, let’s get back to those new features..

1. Scheduled Bookings

It is now possible to book a car for later from our apps. We have developed a clear driver app interface (which I’ll show you later) to manage scheduled jobs efficiently. Good thing is you can allow or disallow scheduled bookings from the company panel, depending on your business. Your apps will adjust accordingly. Please note that scheduled bookings are switched off by default.
In the passenger app we indicate all scheduled jobs with a notification counter and they all can be accessed from the side menu.

2. Trips and Receipts

All scheduled and recent trips are now accessible from the side menu. For a scheduled trip you can see all details and check whether a driver has been assigned or not. For a recent trip you can see a receipt and you can call a company in case you left something in a cab or just have a question about this trip.

3. Improved Job Distribution Algorithm

The picture below might be a bit confusing, but in 2 words – each driver has 15 seconds to get a job 100%. Now a driver will be less frustrated and will know exactly when he can get an incoming job or when it is sent to the next driver. The algorithm is smart enough to sort drivers by actual distance and time it will take to travel to the customer considering traffic, one way streets etc. Giving drivers more control on their jobs is essential for them to do well.

4. New iOS Driver Core

It is important to understand that the driver app is a main tool for a driver to get his job done. It should perform as good as a Swiss watch. Keeping that goal in mind we have completely rebuilt our iOS driver app from the core, making it an ultimate job delivery machine for your drivers. Available now updated on the App Store!

5. New Driver Interface

One of the problem we are constantly focusing on at TaxiStartup HQ is keeping the interface simple. While adding new features to the driver app we’ve been working closely with the drivers and had to pass through 7 iterations to come up with a clear user experience elements and layout. Large fonts. Large elements. Predictable behavior.

6. Driver Registration From the App

Now you can allow any driver to signup to your company right from the app. They will have to enter their personal details, vehicle details, driver’s license snapshots and wait for your approval. This new interface also allows your current drivers upload their car picture, which will later be shown to the client.

7. Receive Scheduled Jobs While Off-shift

This simple feature allows drivers to receive scheduled jobs while they are off-shift. They will get an instant notification once a new job is available. All they have to do is open an app and accept it.

8. End Shift Summary

At the end of each shift driver can now see his summary for the day. It is a nice way to check self performance and self progress. Wish I had the same summary for my day, don’t you?

Alright, these are some of the features available to your from today. All the apps are updated and available on the App Store and Google Play.